Ski brake

ABSTRACT

A pedal-actuated ski brake biased into the braking position and having a means for holding the brake prong inboard of the ski when in the skiing position. The ski brake may also have a means for biasing the brake prong outboard of the ski when in the braking position. When the ski brake is used with a turntable ski binding, the pedal is received inside an opening in the turntable and there is also a means for engaging the heel retainer so as to hinder unwanted movement.

The invention herein relates to brakes for skis and particularly to skibrakes used with safety ski bindings.

Attention is invited to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.198,133, filed Oct. 21, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,968 forCombination Ski Boot Retainer and Ski Brake; to pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 358,372 filed Mar. 15, 1982 for Ski Brake; and topending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 368,276, filed Apr. 14, 1982for Ski Brake; all of which are assigned to the assignee of thisapplication and all of which involve ski brakes.

Other ski brakes have often used pieces of wire shaped into a leverhaving a pivot shaft between upper and lower arms. The lower arms formthe prongs of the brake and extend below the ski when the brakingposition is assumed. These lower arms are rotated above the bottom ofthe ski when the non-braking (that is, skiing) position is assumed. Inother ski brakes the brake prongs extend outwardly from the ski evenwhen in the non-braking position. This creates the danger that one ofthese brake prongs will engage with other objects, such as the brakeprongs of another ski, thereby threatening the safety of the skier.Thus, it is highly desirable to minimize this risk by employing a leverthat is drawn inboard of the ski when put in the non-braking position.

A very useful ski binding is the so-called turntable ski binding, suchas shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,001, wherein the heel of the ski boot ispermitted to rotate somewhat in the ski binding. In adapting a ski braketo such a binding, it is desirable to provide a means for limiting thefrictional resistance between the ski boot and the ski brake, therebystill allowing the ski boot and the heel retainer of the binding torotate. It is also desirable to provide a means for selectivelyinhibiting movement of the ski binding such as when the ski is beingtransported.

In addition, it is desirable to minimize the height of the sole of theski boot above the ski.

The invention herein provides a ski brake in which the brake prongs aredrawn inboard of the ski when the skiing position is assumed. It alsofeatures a pedal and turntable arrangement that permits rotation of aski boot in a turntable binding. It also provides a means forselectively inhibiting the rotation of the heel retainer in a turntablebinding. It further features a construction which minimizes elevation ofthe ski boot above the ski.

In its preferred embodiments the ski brake according to the inventionhas two levers mounted on opposite sides of the ski. Each lever has apivot shaft between a lower arm and an upper arm. Each lever isrotatable between a braking position in which the lower arm extendsbelow the ski and outward from the ski and a non-braking position inwhich the lower arm does not extend below the ski. An actuating arm isconnected to each lever and is movable between an actuating positionwherein each lever is in its braking position and non-braking position.A pedal has one portion rotatably attached to the upper arm of eachlever and another portion rotatably attached to the actuating arm. Thepedal is movable between a skiing position in which each of the leversis put in its non-braking position and a non-skiing position. There is aspring for biasing the actuating arm to its braking position to causethe pedal to assume its non-skiing position and each lever to assume itsbraking position. Guide surfaces are provided on the underside of thepedal for engaging and urging inward the upper arms of each lever. Theseguide surfaces act as a positioning means for holding each of the lowerarms in an inboard position when each of the levers is in itsnon-braking position.

In its preferred embodiments the ski brake also has a second spring forurging each of the lower arms into an outboard position when each leveris in the non-braking position.

In its preferred embodiments the ski brake is used in connection with aturntable ski binding. The turntable has an opening for receiving thepedal of the ski brake and the turntable supports the sole of the skiboot when the pedal is pushed into the skiing position by the ski boot.

A preferred embodiment of the ski brake also has a protrusion extendingfrom the rear of the pedal which selectively engages the heel retainerof the turntable ski binding thereby inhibiting movement of the soleretainer.

In its preferred embodiments the levers are made from round wire and thethickness of the pedal is about the thickness of the levers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevational view of a ski brake according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partially in section, of the ski brake ofFIG. 1.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are partial top plan views of additional embodimentsof the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the embodiments shown in the drawings, ski brakes according to theinvention are shown in use with a so-called turntable ski binding. Suchturntable bindings are already known in the art and are furtherdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,001 (titled Heel Tightener for SafetySki Bindings issued July 12, 1977 with Roland Jungkind as inventor andHannes Marker as assignee) which is incorporated herein by reference.FIGS. 1 and 2 hereof show portions of the turntable binding. A turntable1 is held onto the top of a ski 3 by means of a holding disc 2 which isitself fixed to the ski by means of a set of screws 4, only one of whichis shown. Turntable 1 has some limited horizontal swivel motion in eachdirection. Turntable 1 has two upwardly flanged side walls or cheeks 5,6. A pair of tension bars 7, 8 (shown only in part) are rotatablymounted in holes in side walls 5, 6. The other ends (not shown) oftension bars, 7, 8 carry a sole retainer (not shown) which is movableagainst the force of at least one spring and engages the heel of the skiboot. Thus, during skiing, the sole retainer holds the ski boot to theski. However, when it is desirable to release the ski boot, such asduring a fall, the ski boot and turntable are permitted to rotatesomewhat, thereby facilitating release of the ski boot.

Turning now to a ski brake according to this invention, FIG. 1 shows abridging member 9 formed on the rear of holding disc 2 which bridges therear portion of turntable 1. A ski brake base plate 10 is attached tothe ski adjacent to the rearward edge of bridging member 9. Ski brakebase plate 10 has upwardly flanged walls 11 which support a cross axle12 for rotational movement. One end of an actuating arm 13 is attachedto axle 12 and is thereby rotatably mounted to base plate 10. The otherend of actuating arm 13 is rotatably mounted near the rear of pedal 14by means of a bolt 15 which is received for slidable movement in a slot16 formed in pedal 14. Actuating arm 13 can rotate around bolt 15. Inaddition, actuating arm 13 can slide somewhat along pedal 14 when bolt15 slides in slot 16.

The ski brake further comprises lever means in the form of a pair oflevers 17, 18 rotatably attached to the forward portion of pedal 14. Theconstruction of each lever is better understood by examining FIG. 2,which is in partial section, with half of the top of pedal 14 havingbeen removed. Preferably, levers 17, 18 are each formed from a piece ofround wire. As best seen in lever 17, each lever has a centralconnecting portion 21 between a lower arm 19 and an upper arm 22. Lowerarm 19, which is the free end, has a plastic covering 20 and forms thebrake prong and acts to engage the snow by extending below the ski whenthe ski brake is in the braking position as in FIG. 1. Centralconnecting portion 21 acts as a pivot shaft between lower arm 19 andupper arm 22. Thus, if upper arm 22 is pulled up, then lower arm 19 isrotated down into the braking position below the ski. When upper arm 22is pushed down, lower arm 19 is rotated up into its non-braking positionwherein it does not extend below the ski.

A coiled spring 26 is provided on cross axle 12. The middle of spring 26has an activating leg 27 for engaging actuating arm 13. Each end ofspring 26 has base legs 28 for engaging base plate 10. Spring 26 acts asa means for biasing the actuating arm into the upward actuating positionshown in FIG. 1. The upwardly flanged walls 11 of base plate 10 arecovered by a lid 29 which is fastened to base plate 10 by rivets 30.Rivets 30 together with lid 29 and upwardly flanged walls 11 form thebed for pivot shaft 21 of levers 17, 18.

As can best be seen in the upper portion of FIG. 2, there are guidesurfaces 25 formed on the underside of pedal 14. These guide surfaces 25are structured to engage upper arms 22 of levers 17, 18 when pedal 14 ispushed down. The lower portion of each guide surface is closer to theside of the ski than the upper portion. Thus, when the guide surface 25first engages an upper arm 22 of a lever, the lever is away from themidline of the ski; however, as pedal 14 is pushed down further, guidesurface 25 urges upper arm 22 inward toward the middle of ski and thelever is brought inward.

The operation of these various parts of the ski brake can be betterunderstood by considering how the ski brake moves between its brakingand skiing positions. FIG. 1 shows the ski brake in its brakingposition; which means that lower arm 19 extends below the bottom of ski3. When the ski boot is inserted into the binding, the back of the soleengages pedal 14. As pedal 14 is pushed down, levers 17, 18 are rotatedabout the respective pivot shafts 21 until lower lever arms 19 areraised above the ski and about parallel to it. This rotation is doneagainst the force of spring 26 which biases actuating arm 13 toward theactuating position shown in FIG. 1. As pedal 14 is pushed further downbolt 15 slides forward in slot 16. This further pushing down of pedal 14causes actuating arm 13 to stretch spring 26 further, but because of theleverage provided by the pedal and actuating arm, the additional forcerequired is relatively small.

Pushing down of pedal 14 causes upper arms 19 of the levers to engageguide surfaces 25 on the underside of the pedal. This forces levers 17,18 inwardly toward each other so that the position (shown in the tophalf of FIG. 2 for lever 17) in which lower arm 19, for the most part atleast, is inside the width of the ski. Thus, the danger is lessened thatlever from the other ski will hook up with one of the levers from thisski. In other words, it can be said that, in the braking position, lowerarm 19 is outboard from the ski, which means that it extends past theside of the ski; but when in the non-braking position lower arm 19 isinboard of the ski, which means that, for the most part, it is at orwithin the side of the ski. It should be understood that the terminboard as used herein also contemplates the possibility of some portionof lower arm 19 extending outwardly beyond the side of the ski, as shownat the top of FIG. 2. What is important about the inboard position isthat the free end of lower arm 19 be brought to the side of the ski soas to minimize the danger inherent in having the brake stick out duringskiing.

When pedal 14 is released, the ski brake is urged into the brakingposition because spring 26 urges actuating arm upwards, which in turnpulls pedal 14, which in turn pulls on upper arm 22 and rotates lowerarm 19 down into the braking position.

Further refinements of the invention are also shown in the drawings.

The end of upper arm 22 of each lever is bent inward toward the middleof the ski and reduced in diameter to form an attachment prong 23. Aspring 24 is mounted between the two levers 17, 18 and held in place bythe attachment prongs on the end of each upper arm. Spring 24 urgeslevers 17, 18 apart. Thus, spring 24 acts as a biasing means for urginglevers 17, 18 apart, so that when the levers assume their brakingposition, each lower arm 19 is urged outboard of the ski.

Turntable 1 further comprises a metal supporting piece 31 and plasticboot plate 32. This plastic boot plate extends in a horseshoe shapearound holding disc 2. The open side of horseshoe-shaped plastic bootplate 32 is towards the back of the ski so that an open area is providedfor receiving pedal 14 above holding disc 2. As the ski boot pushespedal 14 down, pedal 14 is received within the opening ofhorseshoe-shaped boot plate 32. When pedal 14 is pushed all the waydown, the ski boot engages boot plate 32. Preferably, boot plate 32,rather than pedal 14, carries the weight of the boot during skiing.Thus, the friction between the boot and pedal 14 is kept to a minimumwhen the turntable is in motion, such as during a fall.

The rear of pedal 14 extends beyond actuating arm 13. This extension 33serves the purpose of engaging the sole retainer (not shown) of the skibinding. In this manner the ski binding is prevented from swiveling whenit is placed in the position shown in FIG. 1. The manner of suchengagement is known in the art, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No.4,366,968 where a turntable type ski binding has a pedal with lockingarm for engaging a sole retainer to prevent the retainer from swiveling.This is desirable when, for example, transporting the skis.

The outside diameter of spring 24 is no larger than the wire diameter oflevers 17, 18. Since neither pedal 14 nor part 32 needs to be enlargedto accommodate spring 24, the size of pedal 14 and therewith the size ofplastic part 32 of turntable 1 can be kept small. Thus, the heel of theski boot is not required to project very far above the top of the ski.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show alternate placements of the biasing means usedbetween lever means 17, 18.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a spring 34 constructed in the form of aclosed ring is clamped to lever means 17', 18'.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a coiled spring 35 is mounted on the baseplate between lever means 17', 18'.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 eliminates the use of two springs (such assprings 24 and 26 in FIGS. 1 and 2) by instead using a single coiledspring 26'. Base legs 28' of spring 26' work in the same way as baselegs 28 of spring 26 in FIGS. 1 and 2, but, in addition, they also haveturned up ends 36 for engaging lever means 17', 18'. Thus, in thisembodiment, spring 26' has the dual function of not only acting as thebiasing means for urging actuating arm 13 into its actuating position,but also acting as the biasing means for urging levers 17, 18 intooutboard positions when the braking position is assumed.

The invention has been described in detail with particular emphasis onthe preferred embodiments, but it should be understood that there areother additional variations and modifications within the scope andspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A brake for a ski, comprising:a pair of laterallyspaced wire levers, each wire lever being of predetermined diameter andcomprising a pivot shaft intermediate a lower arm and an upper arm, saidlever being rotatable between a braking position in which said lower armextends below the ski and outboard from the ski and a non-brakingposition in which said lower arm does not extend below the ski; a coilspring disposed between said wire levers for biasing said lower armsoutboard from the ski, said coil spring having a diameter no larger thanthe diameter of either of said levers; actuating means for urging eachlever into said braking position; a generally circular pedal beingrotatable about an axis perpendicular to said pedal and having athickness about equal to the predetermined diameter of said wire levers,said pedal further having a downwardly facing recess containing the coilspring and receiving the upper arms of each of said wire levers, saidpedal receiving pressure from the sole of a ski boot, said pedal beingmovable by the pressure of the ski boot from a non-skiing position to askiing position, said levers being rotated into said non-brakingposition when said pedal means is moved into said skiing position; andpositioning means for holding each of said lower arms in an inboardposition against the bias of said coil spring when said levers are insaid non-braking position, said positioning means comprising a guidesurface on said pedal for engaging and urging inward said upper armswhen said pedal is in said skiing position.
 2. The ski brake of claim 1,wherein said actuating means comprises:an actuating arm operativelyconnected to each of said levers and movable between an actuatingposition wherein said levers are in said braking position and anon-actuating position wherein said levers are is in said non-brakingposition; and first biasing .Iadd.means .Iaddend.for biasing saidactuating arm to said actuating position to cause said levers to assumesaid braking position; and wherein said pedal is operatively connectedto said actuating arm, said actuating arm being moved to saidnon-actuating position when said pedal is moved into said non-skiingposition.
 3. The ski brake of claim 1 wherein said actuating meanscomprises an actuating arm operatively connected to each of said leversand movable between an actuating position wherein said levers are insaid braking position and a non-actuating position wherein said leversare in said non-braking position; and first biasing means for biasingsaid actuating arm to said actuating position to cause said levers toassume said braking position.[.; and wherein said spring and said firstbiasing means comprise a single spring.]..
 4. The ski brake of claim 1and further comprising:a turntable ski binding with a turntable havingan opening for receiving said pedal when said pedal is in said skiingposition, said turntable being engageable by the sole of a ski boot whensaid pedal is moved into said skiing position by said pressure of saidski boot.
 5. The ski brake of claim 4, wherein said turntable furthercomprises a horseshoe-shaped boot plate for bearing weight of said skiboot when said pedal is in said skiing position.